Saint Gregory the Sinaite

A missionary of hesychasm, Saint Gregory was born in 13th century Asia Minor. Captured by Turks during a raid and taken to Laodicea, he finally regained his freedom and traveled to Cyprus, where he entered the monastic life. At Mount Sinai, he was tonsured and assumed the Great Schema. On Crete, Gregory met the elder Arsenios who taught him about hesychia: silence, vigilance, and pure prayer. He searched all of Mount Athos, looking for monks who practiced inner prayer but found only a few so he settled in a secluded skete and spread his teachings throughout the Holy Mountain. Distinct from his contemporary Saint Gregory Palamas, Saint Gregory of Sinai was not concerned with the defense of hesychia, but sought only to teach its practice. He founded numerous monastic communities and his writings on prayer, asceticism, and the Holy Commandments can be found in The Philokalia. Saint Gregory spent his last years deep in the wilderness of Macedonia and reposed in peace in great old age.